Improvement in shingle-machines



UNITED STATES JOHN A..BUltAP XND JAMES H. MELIQK, OF ALBANY, ,YORK

PATENT OFFICE.

iMPnovEMENT-IN SHtNGLE-MACHINES.

Specification forming part ot' Letters Patent N0. 50,900, dated November 14, 1863 antedated November 5, 1965. 'y

To all whom it may` concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN A. BURNAP and JAMES H. MELICK, of the city of Albany, State ot' New York., have invented certain Improvements upon the Sliingle-lllaehine now in general use and exhibited in Figure 1 of the drawings forming part of the accompanying de? slription; and we declare the' following specification, with the drawings forming part thereot,'to be a full and complete description of our invention.

Fig. l represents, in perspective, the machine now :in usc,and which we propose to improve. `The other figures exhibit, in detail, our improvements, similar letters in the diterent figures denotingthe saine parts offthe'apgaratus. A

To saw shingles with the machine, Fig. l, three4 distinct operationsareemployed iirst, for the purpose ot securing the block or bolt,7 as it is called, from which the shingles are to be cut firmly during the sawing; secondly, to move the frame or bed upon-which the bolt lies; and, thirdly, Vto cant the bolt-bed to the right or left hand alternately to'give the proper shape to the shingle. These several. more ments are done'by hand, and require the attendance ot' two persons to operate the machine et'ticiently.

The object otour invention is to cause these operations to be done automatically bythe machinery, securing, bythe superintendeuce of one persoina much greater amount ot' work during a given period.

The apparatus for maneuvering the dogs consists otl the following parts: Within the frame-C (see Fig. 5, which shows it in plan,

Fig. 8 reversed, and Figs. 6 and 7 in section): are four tlat metal bars, bol) d d, b Z) lying over and nearly touching d d. The ends ot' b b pass through slots in the front and back rails ot' the frame, and are secured from moving sidewlse by resting upon metal platos r r, in the upper made) between them. When the bars are.

placed they are held down by upper plates, t t, properly secured. These bars b b have a limited forward and backward movement.` The lower bars, d d, have a small movement t'rom side to side, lying upon slide c c, under the rail. Through the upper bars are oblique slots gg, shapedand placed as shown in Fig. 5, and through them project from the lower plates, d, pins p11, which guide the movements of the bars over each other. 4 4

lt will be perceived that by this construction whenever thenpper bars arc moved back and forth the lower bars` must move at right angles thereto, or to and from each other.

The inner edges ot' bars d d are furnished with teeth e e, and form the dogs which hold the bolt during the sawing process. The bars b b are moved forward, by which the dogs .are withdrawn from the bolt by their outer ends, which project beyond the front rail of the frame comingv in contact with stops hl M, iixed upon the front girt of the tab1e,whenever the frame G is drawn to the front.

In order to press the dogs into thebolt as soon as the frame moves backward, there are strong spiral springst' (shown in Fig. 5) extending from one ot' the pins in the lower or dog bars, d d, to a pin at the other ends ot' the Y `meshiuto cog-wheels F F, xedupon a shaft,

N,extendiugacrossthe machine. v'.Lhese wheels are intended to move the carriage backward, and when they have performed this duty the carriage is drawn forward by a weight with chain or cord Z', passing over a pulley tixed upon the Yfront upper girt ot' frame' A. Upon/ f the shaft N there is a bevel-wheel, R, by which the shaft is connected with the driving power,

the wheel running loose upon the shaft. It is made to revolve the shaft by means ot' a coupl ling-clutch, Q, which slides upon a feather on the shaft.. This clutch is thrown in and out ot' gear witltwheel ltby a 'horizontal bell-crank lever, L, and is held in gear by` a spring, f. A vertical bell-crank, V, handledv by alever, U,

is fitted to drop against the front arm' of L and hold it firmly in place whenever the shaft land wheel are uncoupled. A hand stop-lever, T, is added to permit the disconnection ofthe shaft and wheel at any point of the preg ,rressl` of the carriage C.

In sawing bolts of various widths the distance the carriage musttrave-l over the saw is regulated by an adjustable trip. This is a slotted plaf'c of metal, YV, (see Figs. 5 and 6,) lying upon the right-hand bar of the frame, having a screw and nut by which it can be adjusted forward and backward along the bar, from which plate an arm, It, drops down'along the outside of the bar.' The arm l1., by the movement of carriage C, is brought againstv the rear-projecting end, x, of the sliding car riage of a spring, u, which is attached by one end to its carriage and by the other to the end ot' bell'crank L. When the arm hI strikes the piecez it moves the carriage a short space, ,drawing upon the spring auntiLjt moves the crank L, which 'disengages lthe clutch Q, when the action of the spring throws the clutch entirely clear from the wheel-R the moment it isdiseugaged therefrom.

The apparatus for canting the bolt consists of twobell-cranksd' and 7;,Fig. 2, pivoted upon the upper girt of frameA, in the position shown. Their inner ends operate against pins m a on the upper bar ot frame E. 0n the center of cross-piece G a guide-groove, p, narrow in its center and widening to the front and rear, is made, as shown in the drawings. Against the center of the front bar of carriage C there is pivoted a trip-pin, Y, hanging down, so that its bottom shall strike against thebell-cranks fand k. 1t is fitted to-move with sufficient friction upon its pivot so as to retain any position in which it may be placed. The operation of this apparatus is thus:4 The frame, with the bolt, having been canted for the first cutting, as shown in the drawings, when C passes forward the trip Y, entering into the .groove 19 will be carried in the direction p m, and strikes against the inner end of crank j, causingl its outer arm, by pressing against pin m, to cant the frame E tothe right hand, changing the position ot' crank k, and placing groove p in the range of s n.. Consequently when carriage U again traverses the trip Y will be shifted to the right, striking against crank k and cantingframe E to the left, thus at every traverse of C canting the bolt alternately to the right or left hand. 1

The saw S and the wheel It are to be driven by any suitable power, and such arrangements of gearing as shall give proper harmony to the different parts of the machine as they operate in combination with each other.

The operation of the machine is as follows:

The.bcd K being adjusted by the raising or lowering of the saine for the thickness of the shingle., the bolt X is placed upon it and canted for the first cutting. 'lhcn the dogs e are entered into the bolt, and the stop W11. adjusted forthewidth of thebolt. The opcratingpower is then to be applied. The carriage C moves toward the saw S, carrying the bolt suspended by the dogs against and along the saw. As soon as it has cut a shingle the trip It, operating bell-crank L, u-ncouples wheel R from shaft S, when the weight Z draws the carriage C forward. As it reaches the front the projecting arms of the bars b I) strike the stops )I )I rid retract the dogs 0 c, dropping the bolt upon the bed K, which has, by the operation of pin Y, been canted in a direction opposite to its previousposition. 'lhebcll-cranklhwiththecoupling-box Q, has been held by bell-crankY during thet'orward movement of carriage C; but at this moment a pin, u, projecting from the fraaie of the carriage inwardly, (see Figs. 4, 6, 7,) strikes the upright arm of Y from behind, trips its hold of L, which is, by springr j', made to couple the clutch Q and wheel R and cause the wheels F F to move the carriage and bolt toward the saw. This operation is repeated until the bolt is cut up into shingles.

What we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The apparatus for working the dogs, to

wit,`the bars b b d d, the slots g, pins 1i, springs i, and the stops M, constructed and operating together as described.

2. The apparatus for moving the carriage C to and from the saw S, to wit, the shaft N, with the cog-wheels lf, rack-teeth i/ ofthe carriage, the weight and cord or chain Z, the coupling-clutch Q, wheel R, bellcranks L and V, tripping-arm h, with its adjustable 'plate W, springsfand u, and tripping-pin v1t-,con'struct ed and operating together as described.

3. The apparatus for canting the bolt-bed, to wit, the bell-cranks j and k, with the pins m and n, guide-groove I), and tripping-pin Y, constructed and operating togetherl as described.

4. The combi-nation of the apparatus for working the dogs, that-for movingl the'carriage to'and from the saw, and that for cantin g the bolt-bed, substantially as the same is described and set forth in the within specification.

JOHNy A. BURNAP. JAMES'H. M ELICK.

Witnesses Y RIGHD. VnRroK DE.W1TT, JAMES B. SANDERS. 

